Please help me not to poison myself...

[Moopmoop]

So I'm still a bit scared about all of this hedgerow stuff even though it fascinates me. I'v been out today and picked a few lbs of blackberries and I don't need any help with identifying those. On the other hand I found a tree with berries and I don't know what they are. I'll post the pics below, don't worry I've not eaten any of them but would like to ID them before I manage to poison my family Thank you

PS don't be fooled by the part that looks like a bramble, it is in fact a bramble growing underneath the tree.

[veggiechicken]

Are the black and green fruits on the same tree? I'm confused about which leaves belong to the fruit too

[Moopmoop]

In the first pic the berries are on the tree so the leaves belong to that tree the second pic is same leaves. I only mentioned the bramble as in pic 1 you can see a bramble running up the middle. There are no green fruit, the green is the inside of the black fruit?

[rustylady]

Looks like damsons or sloes to me

[veggiechicken]

Were there thorns on the tree?
What sort of pip was inside the fruit - was it one, or several? Big or little?

[Moopmoop]

No obvious thorns, the last pic was of the stone, one fairly large like a cherry.

[rustylady]

No obvious thorns, the last pic was of the stone, one fairly large like a cherry.

Damsons then - how big was the tree?

[Moopmoop]

Tree was pretty big, at least 8-10 feet.

[mothhawk]

Look like damsons to me too, Moopmoop. If you don't want to risk tasting one, pop a few in a little water in a pan and cook them. If they smell like plums cooking, hey! they're damsons

[teakdesk]

They look like unripe sloes to me. The leaves seem right for sloes as well.

What does the flesh taste like?

[veggiechicken]

Look like damsons to me too, Moopmoop. If you don't want to risk tasting one, pop a few in a little water in a pan and cook them. If they smell like plums cooking, hey! they're damsons

They look small for damsons and not quite the right shape. Bullace maybe?
Scottish Wildlife Blog: September 2009

[veggiechicken]

They look like unripe sloes to me. The leaves seem right for sloes as well.

What does the flesh taste like?

Taste an unripe sloe and you will think you've been poisoned
Ripe ones aren't much better!

[mothhawk]

You're probably right, VC. They are a bit round for damsons. Can't be sloes anyway, as MM said no obvious thorns.

[Moopmoop]

I licked the inside of one and they don't seem to taste of much really. If we all agree they're not poisonous then I'm going to put them in vodka and we'll see what it turns out like.

[veggiechicken]

Without seeing the fruit and the bush myself, I'm not agreeing to anything, Moop. Sorry.